Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3)

by Robin LaFevers

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

The third book is finally out! I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet, but I'm excited to the extreme! The first two books are on the short list of books that changed my life. Grave Mercy (#1) introduces the readers to France in the 1480's to the convent of St. Mortain, with main characters Ismae, Sybella, and Annith. Each book in the trilogy (in that order) tells the story from their points of view. Dark Triumph (#2) which is Sybella's story is one of the most powerful stories I've ever read. She is so strong and so unapologetic about her strength. Truly a rare trait that not many female characters share. Completely and utterly worth the 1,398* page journey.
*(total over all three books).

Mort (Discworld #4)

In this Discworld installment, Death comes to Mort with an offer he can't refuse -- especially since being, well, dead isn't compulsory. As Death's apprentice, he'll have free board and lodging, use of the company horse, and he won't need time off for family funerals. The position is everything Mort thought he'd ever wanted, until he discovers that this perfect job can be a killer on his love life.
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

Another magnificent snapshot of life (and afterlife) on the Disc. This was also adapted as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 Extra which was incredibly fun. Dive in and enjoy.

Mary Poppins

By P.L. Travers, the author featured in the upcoming movie Saving Mr. Banks.   From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.

It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

The stuff of every child's (and adults') dreams. The book is even better than the movie but doing library/family program with a combo of the two can be fun too. Happy reading y'all.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers
who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I picked this book up from the sidewalk because I judged it by it's cover. I'm nearly done with the book and I love it. Taylor developed strong female characters and a great narrative in Prague. I would recommend this book to everyone.

In Honor of Banned Books Week

#3 Challenged Book of 2013

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illustrator)

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

If ever you, jaded humans, need a slap in the face of perspective, this book would be a good place to start. An absolutely beautiful tragic story. Full of love and loss and life and cold hard reality, this is an important book for teens and adults alike. Junior is such a great character and it was great to see his development and how he handled incredibly challenging situations.

This book’s most frequent challenge was because of “Drugs/alcohol/smoking”. Alexie wrote about drugs and drinking. And his book was challenged. Because nobody drinks excessively or does drugs, so teens don’t need to know about their devastating and deadly consequences, right? This isn’t Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, there is no glory bestowed on the consumption of illegal substances. Characters that the main character Junior loves are taken away from him because other characters made incredibly poor choices. Choices teens can learn about in order to avoid repeating themselves.

In Honor of Banned Books Week

#1 Challenged Book of 2013

The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Captain Underpants #1)
by Dav Pilkey

Pilkey plays with words and pictures, providing great entertainment. The story is immediately engaging - two fourth-grade boys who write comic books and love to pull pranks find themselves in big trouble. Mean Mr. Krupp, their principal, videotapes George and Harold setting up their stunts and threatens to expose them. The boys' luck changes when they send for a 3-D Hypno-Ring and hypnotize Krupp, turning him into Captain Underpants, their own superhero creation. Later, Pilkey includes several pages of flip-o-ramas that animate the action. The simple black-and-white illustrations on every page furnish comic-strip appeal. The cover features Captain Underpants, resplendent in white briefs, on top of a tall building. This book will fly off the shelves.

(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I’ve read about half of the Captain Underpants series—out loud to a child—and loved them almost as much, if not more, than he did. The illustrations are a great complement to the story, which in itself is downright hilarious. This series is perfect for reluctant readers. It will show them that reading can be fun while still helping them develop the habit of reading sequentially from left to right with very manageable—and did I mention hilarious?!—text.

This book was challenged not because it was “unsuited for age group” but because Pilkey dared to have the two student protagonist challenge authority and because he portrayed school personnel in the way in which he experienced them himself; detached, indifferent, of often unkind. Teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world, they teach our children, but being over-worked, under-paid and under-appreciated has led many to simply not give a damn anymore. Parents, don’t blame the graphic novel, blame the fractured system. Them stop blaming it and do something about it.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century-1951-in the middle of the United States-Des Moines, Iowa-in the middle of the largest generation in American history-the baby boomers.As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold.

Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)-in his head-as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality-a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy.
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I love everything Bill Bryson writes, his style fits my personality perfectly. With my heads nearly permanently in the clouds, it can be difficult for me to read non-fiction, but all of Bryson's books are told with such a brilliant narrative voice that it's easy for me to get lost in his life. Fantastic books, all of them.